212 



Commercial Gardening 



200 or more. If a large lake, pond, or good stream is available, so 

 much the better; if a company will supply water at a cheap rate, a good 

 deal of worry and expense may be saved. 



Except in the case of a company's water, which can be laid on at 

 high pressure, it will be necessary in other cases to build a tower 25 to 

 30 ft. high to hold the cistern on top. In this way a tremendous force 

 of water can be secured, and this is necessary to distribute the water 

 by means of hose pipes over one bed after another from the various 

 stand pipes that will spring up from the pipes beneath the pathways. 

 About 620 yd. run of 2-in. water pipe, and 120 yd. of 3-in. pipe, would 

 be necessary to distribute the water effectively over a 2-ac. garden; and 

 about fifty stand pipes should be fixed at regular distances for the use 

 of hose pipes. In this way there is not the slightest difficulty beyond 

 the labour in thoroughly watering a 2-ac. garden twice a day during 

 the summer months if necessary. 



To secure a perfect flow and good force the pipes from the cistern 

 should be 4-in. ones, joining on to the 3-in. pipe running along the top 

 or northern end of the garden, and from this 3-in. pipe the 2-in. ones 

 with stand pipes would run at right angles north and south, and about 

 68 ft. apart. 



Mats. These are made of rye straw, which is better because lighter 

 and more durable, and does not hold the wet so much as wheat or oat 

 or barley straw. The usual size of a rye-straw mat is 5 ft. long by 4i ft. 

 wide, and the weight is about 11 to 12 Ib. The mats are made on a special 

 frame, and the stands are kept in place by five strings of twine. To pre- 

 serve the mats, and also to ward off attacks of fungoid diseases and mice, 

 &c., the mats before sale are always steeped in a solution of copper sul- 

 phate. With fair wear and tear a mat will last three or four years, 

 and costs in the first place at present about Is. 3d The high price is 

 probably due to one of the numerous " syndicates " in France. It ought 

 to be possible to make good rye-straw mats in the United 



Kingdom at a price that 

 would be more attractive 

 than the present French 

 one. 



Miscellaneous. Other 

 implements, &c., besides 

 those mentioned will be 

 useful. Spades, forks 

 (digging and manure), 

 hoes, line and reel, hand 

 barrows without legs (for 

 carrying mats between 

 the frames), waterpots of the French type (fig. 524), dibbers, rakes, and 

 the other paraphernalia usual to gardens must be at hand. One instru- 

 ment (fig. 525) is particularly useful when hose pipes are in use. It is 



Fig. 524. French Waterpot 



Fig. 525. Hose 

 Carrier 



